Video Interview with Alice Dreger

Alice Dreger is a science historian turned intersex activist and staunch supporter/ally of the transcommunity.  Unfortunately for her, she also has a strong moral center and stands up for truth above tribal loyalty.  Even though she had been and remained an ally, she was falsely vilified by some in the transcommunity when she investigated and then wrote a history of the way that J. Michael Bailey was treated after he wrote his book, The Man Who Would Be Queen.  Dr. Dreger later wrote about how this incident led her to investigate other instances where scientists had been falsely pilloried by those who disliked the conclusions that resulted from their work in her wonderful book, Galileo’s Middle Finger.

On an entirely personal note, I’m proud to call Alice my friend and hope that she will once again grace our house with her presence.

 

Video of Ray Blanchard

For some late transitioning transwomen Ray Blanchard is either the living embodiment of Satan or he is the genius who put a name to what they had been feeling confused about their own sexuality.  To me, he is simply a good scientist doing his job.  I wish we had more like him.

Although he did NOT discover the phenomena, he did coin the term autogynephilia and dug just a bit deeper than those before… as every scientist does in their turn.  But for some reason he gets both the credit and the blame for bringing attention to the Two Type Taxonomy of transgender people, especially for Male-To-Female transsexuals.  He wasn’t the first to notice the continuum of transvestite/cross-dreamer/cross-dresser/late-transitioning transsexual.  Nor was he the first to notice they were quite different than the exclusively androphilic “young transitioners”.  But he did pursue the phenomena along with several co-investigators with enough depth to pull the material from past researchers together under a coherent theory that fully explained and made predictions about the two types – predictions that are currently being shown to be correct.

So, let’s hear from the man himself,

On Acceptance of Autogynephilia

{SPECIAL NOTE:  If you are coming from Essential Baby – I am NOT an AGP.  I am a “Homosexual Transsexual” (HSTS).  You may wish to learn of the difference by reading my FAQ and learn more about me and my personal history at the About page.}

For over forty years, I’ve watched my friends in the transcommunity struggle with deep emotions regarding their sexuality and identity.  The sadest thing I’ve seen is that nearly all of the transwomen who were attracted to women struggle with a darker secret that they thought that they alone carried, one that was too terrible to discuss even with other transwomen.  I have watched for decades as this secret ate my friends up, darkened their lonely hours, stole into their thoughts when least expected.  That secret was that they were sexually aroused by cross-dressing and/or just dreaming that they were female.

I feel deeply for those who struggle with this secret.  One has spent years struggling with their identity, secretly wishing that they could live openly as women, but deeply ashamed and concerned that their sexuality, their, let’s just say it out loud, their autogyenphilia, means that they aren’t really… well…

So, they hid it, perhaps even lied about it to their therapist.  They hid it from even themselves.  Oh… if only those memories of being a teenager and finding those lovely panties, or a bra… slipping them on… feeling those delicious… oopsie… you can’t talk about that.

But you must.

And because you must, I have the most amazing thing to tell you… all of your transgender friends (late transitioners rarely have early transitioners as friends… at least not close friends)… all your friends are struggling with the same secret.  How do we know?  Because, when given a chance, in survey after survey, for decades, your friends and those like them quietly acknowledged that they were sexually aroused by cross-dressing, at least they did as teens… and a bit over half admit that they still do many years later.  Imagine that.  YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

So, knowing that all of the transwomen you know are also… go ahead… be brave… say the word out loud… autogynephilic!  Isn’t it time you and your friends talked about it?  Honestly talked about it.   (… and being honest about it also means not trying to lie to yourself or others… such as saying that non-transwomen also experience autogynephilia… they don’t).  Isn’t it time to face this secret, to own it, to use that self-knowledge to guide you toward a happier future?

Come out of your closets !!!